No, there’s no reason to think DeVos is planning to resign, contrary to viral news stories

Betsy DeVos haters can rejoice it seems: The secretary is planning to resign from Trump’s cabinet, according to a much-shared Salon story.

But it’s not true — there is no indication that DeVos is planning to quit.

The story, originally published on the progressive site Alternet, claims in its headline that “Officials expect DeVos to resign from Trump administration.” A piece for the website Raw Story also made a similar claim.

As of this morning, the Salon version had racked up over 250,000 shares on Facebook. Prominent people have posted it on Twitter, including American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, who described it as “breaking news,” and an Ohio congresswoman.

In fact, the article does not rely on any original reporting, but simply draws from a lengthy Politico profile of DeVos, focusing on the constraints she has hit as head of the Department of Education.

In the piece, FutureEd think tank director Tom Toch said, “In Washington education circles, the conversation is already about the post-DeVos landscape, because the assumption is she won’t stay long.”

This appears to be the sum of the claim that “officials” think DeVos will resign; in fact, Toch is not a government official. And in context, Toch’s quote appears to be speculative rather than based on any direct knowledge that DeVos plans to leave imminently. (The Salon story itself is more careful than the headline, and does not say directly that DeVos had specific plans to resign.)

DeVos has been beset by criticism, but has repeatedly reiterated — including in the Politico story — that she plans to serve all four years in the Trump administration. Of course, that might change, but there’s nothing suggesting so, at least right now.

This comes at a time where many in the education world — and beyond — have called for helping students learn how to recognize fake new and evaluate evidence.

Meanwhile a number of education journalists criticized the story as inaccurate on Twitter. These corrections, though, are unlikely to get the same viral traction that the original story has.

This is making its way around left-wing education advocates. It is genuinely (and pretty obviously) fake news https://t.co/PRWbEjekYB

A water-damaged, mold-infested elementary school building in northwest Detroit will be closed for the rest of the school year while crews replace the roof and make other repairs.

District superintendent Nikolai Vitti notified the school board about plans for the Palmer Park Preparatory Academy during a board meeting Tuesday night that became so raucous, the board called a recess for nearly an hour before voting to end the meeting without addressing most of the items on its agenda.

The meeting was ended after security guards attempted to remove a loud protester from the meeting, prompting objections from her supporters.

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Vitti told the board that the 500 students at Palmer Park will be relocated to two nearby schools.

“Starting on Monday,” Vitti said, Palmer Park classes will resume “in other buildings where we have space.”

Specifically, he said, elementary school students will likely go to the now-closed former Catherine Ferguson building and middle school students will move into extra classroom space at Bethune Elementary-Middle School. Bus transportation will be provided, he said.

The district is checking to see if this week’s five-day closure will require the district to add extra hours to comply with state class time requirements.

The potentially dangerous health conditions in the school, which teachers say caused some educators to become ill, were among several matters that had a large group of protesters angry with Vitti and board.

Earlier, protesters led by activist Helen Moore had loudly urged the board as it met at Mumford High School to discuss Mayor Mike Duggan’s plans, announced during last week’s State of the City address, to create collaborations between district and charter schools to grade Detroit schools and to work together on student transportation.

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The activists warned that the mayor was trying to usurp the authority of the elected board.

“That’s how they take over,” Moore shouted.

The crowd also shouted loudly as Vitti discussed the district’s response to the Palmer Park situation, suggesting the district had put children’s health in harm’s way at buildings throughout the district.

Vitti acknowledged that the condition of district buildings is poor.

“I still am horrified by the overall condition of our buildings, specifically at certain locations,” Vitti said. “But I will continue to say that if you look at the day-to-day operations and use of these buildings, children are safe.”

When the audience yelled “nooo,” Vitti defended himself.

“I have nothing … to offer but integrity. My name is attached to this work,” Vitti said, noting that he has four children enrolled in the district. “If there is a child that is in harm’s way … then I will act immediately.”

The district is currently conducting a nearly $1 million study on the conditions of its buildings before making major investments in renovations.

But that timeline isn’t fast enough for one school board member.

“The building assessment won’t be ready until it’s almost time to return to school for the 18-19 school year,” board member LaMar Lemmons said. He blasted the Palmer Park situation as a “public relations nightmare.”

“If we don’t put in some damage control and get ahead of this, people will have a poor perception of the district, not only at Palmer Park but in its entirety,” he said.

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has visited all kinds of schools since she took office last year: district-run, charter, private, religious — even a school located in a zoo.

But one kind of school has been left out, she said Sunday on 60 Minutes: schools that are struggling.

It was a curious admission, since DeVos has built her policy agenda on the argument that vast swaths of American schools are so low-performing that their students should be given the choice to leave. That argument, DeVos conceded, is not based on any firsthand experiences.

Even some who are more sympathetic to school choice initiatives said the interview did not go well.

This is a debacle of an interview. Inept/offensive answers on struggling district schools, disproportionate discipline, guns, and school choice. DeVos is an embarrassment to responsible education choice and reform movements. https://t.co/abVSYxH5et

We can support families having choices abt where to send their children to school & also believe that @BetsyDeVosED was woefully unprepared for her #60Minutes interview and also, apparently, for her job as Ed Sec. Families desperate for options deserve better. @laurenonthehill

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The exchange occupied just a few seconds of the nearly 30 minutes that DeVos spent on television Sunday and Monday, including interviews on Fox and Friends and the Today Show. The appearances followed several school-safety proposals from the White House Sunday, including paying for firearms training for some teachers.

DeVos sidestepped questions about raising the age for gun purchases. “We have to get much broader than just talking about guns, and a gun issue where camps go into their corners,” she said. “We have to go back to the beginning and talk about how these violent acts are even occurring to start with.”

She also endorsed local efforts to decide whether to increase weapons screening at schools. Asked on Fox and Friends about making schools more like airports, with metal detectors and ID checks, DeVos responded, “You know, some schools actually do that today. Perhaps for some communities, for some cities, for some states, that will be appropriate.”

DeVos also said on 60 Minutes that she would look into removing guidance from the Obama administration that was designed to reduce racial disparities in school suspensions and expulsions. Education Week reported, based on comments from an unnamed administration official, that the the guidance would likely land on the DeVos task force’s agenda.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has argued that the Obama-era guidance may have contributed to Florida shooting by preventing the shooter from being referred to the police. (In fact, the 2013 Broward County program designed to reduce referrals to police for minor offenses predated the 2014 federal guidance.)

Details of the commission were not immediately available. Education Week also reported that “age restrictions for certain firearm purchases,” “rating systems for video games,” and “the effects of press coverage of mass shootings” are likely to be discussed.

“The Secretary will unveil a robust plan regarding the commission’s membership, scope of work and timeline in the coming days,” Liz Hill, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, said in an email.